Research Scientists – Growing Agricultural Innovation

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request special accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Information on accommodation for persons with disabilities

This advertisement will be the primary recruitment vehicle for all SE RES positions to be staffed within the Science and Technology Branch of AAFC. This includes both the emerging areas of science (as listed in goals 1-6) and those of more traditional areas of science (as listed in goal 7).

Preference may be given to the following employment equity groups: women and Indigenous candidates.

When you apply to this selection process, you are not applying for a specific job, but to an inventory for future vacancies. As positions become available, applicants who meet the qualifications may be contacted for further assessment. We will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis.

Work environment

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion and is proud to be recognized as one of Canada’s best diversity employers based on its exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs. AAFC welcomes diverse applicants and strives to foster a supportive, respectful, fair and inclusive work environment where everyone's contributions and individual differences are acknowledged and appreciated.

AAFC is increasing Indigenous representation in its science community. It supports Indigenous employees and students through its Indigenous Network Circle and Indigenous Student Recruitment Initiative and also facilitates relationship-building and scientific collaboration with Indigenous partners.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada drives innovation and ingenuity to build a world-leading agricultural economy for the benefit of all Canadians. The impression we make can be seen from the farmer to the consumer and through all phases of producing, processing and marketing of farm, food and bio-based products.

Research Scientists at AAFC play a key role in providing Canadians with cutting-edge science required to support sector and government priorities including addressing environmental challenges and sustainably enhancing productivity.

As a researcher in the Science and Technology Branch, you will lead a scientific research program working with a diverse team across Canada and collaborating with external partners in academia, other government departments and agencies as well as the private sector to support discovery science and innovation in the sector.

Intent of the process

We are seeking approximately 90 research scientists with a wide variety of expertise and experience to provide the Science and Technology Branch of AAFC with cutting-edge science across the breadth of its activities. Particular emphasis is placed on research to support the efforts of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector to respond to the challenges of climate change and to enhance its efforts to better conserve soil and water.

The specific expertise sought will contribute to attaining the following goals:

Goal #1: Increase agro-ecosystem resilience and agriculture’s ability to adapt to climate change through a systems approach (including Living Laboratories)
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: agro-meteorology; artificial intelligence; machine learning; atmospheric chemistry; atmospheric modelling; biodiversity; ‘omics’ including genomics, phenomics and metagenomics; farmscaping; geostatistics; landscape ecology; climate modelling; data analytics; bioinformatics; environmental science; mathematical modelling; microbiome engineering; remote sensing and sensor networks; systems biology; watershed hydrological modelling; and other related areas.

Goal #2: Develop clean technologies to improve the environmental performance of the agriculture and food processing sectors.
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: bioinformatics; bioresource engineering; biochemistry; food systems modeling; food loss and waste including process optimization and scaling, food data bases and by-product valorization; machine learning; mechatronics; metabolomics; modelling; phytobiomics; remote sensing; software engineering; and other related areas.

Goal #3: Increase soil, plant and animal health and increase productivity by unlocking the microbiome
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: animal systems and gut microbiome; bioinformatics; metagenomics; microbiome engineering; phytobiome; soil microbiome; microbial ecology; synthetic biology; and other related areas.

Goal #4: Accelerate the identification of superior traits and practices by revolutionizing germplasm development
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: artificial intelligence; machine learning; bioinformatics; genome editing (CRISPR); high throughput phenotyping and phenomics; multi-omics including proteomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics; next generation sequencing; synthetic biology; and other related areas.

Goal #5: Enhancing risk management and reducing losses for producers through big data and predictive analytics
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: agro-meteorology; artificial intelligence; machine learning; atmospheric science; bioinformatics; biosystematics; computer programming; data analytics; earth observation; phenomics; precision agriculture; predictive modelling; process modelling; regional climate change modelling; software engineering; spatial statistics; and other related areas.

Goal #6: Develop agricultural practices to enhance the nutritional value of foods (metabolomics) and to reduce the impact of antimicrobial resistance
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: biochemistry; bioinformatics; phenomics; multi-omics including proteomics, transcriptomics, and nutrigenomics; microbiome; and other related areas.

Goal #7: Support the agriculture and agri-food sector by enhancing the competitiveness, environmental sustainability, ability to address threats to agricultural production, and the development of new or improved attributes of agricultural and processed food products.
► Some relevant areas of expertise include: agronomy; animal science; biochemistry; biotechnology; biosystematics/taxonomy including mycotoxigenic fungi, mycology and fungal taxonomy; entomology; environmental science; food science and food technology including novel areas such as automation and robotics (Food Industry 4.0, artificial neural networks, artificial intelligence, blockchain, food innovation systems, circular economy and life-cycle assessment); genomics and bioinformatics; microbiology, molecular biology; nutrition; plant breeding/genetics; plant pathology; post-harvest physiology; soil science; and weed science.

Positions to be filled: 90

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

There is a questionnaire that is part of this application process. Provide as much detail as possible to avoid being screened out. Do not copy and paste from your resume when answering these questions. Your resume will be used for additional support for the answers you provide.

Essential Education:
► Graduation with an acceptable doctoral degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in a field of science with a specialization related to the duties of the position, such as, but not limited to:

applied mathematics; agroecology; agronomy; animal or plant science; botany; chemistry; biology or micro-biology; biophysics; climate science; ecology; entomology; environmental science; food science and technology; genetics and genomics; ontology; plant pathology and breeding; animal pathology; post-harvest physiology; social psychology; software engineering; soil science; or other specialization in a field relevant to the duties of the position.

Applications will be accepted from candidates enrolled in their final year, but who have not yet completed a Ph.D. program. Completion of the Ph.D. thesis must occur before the date of appointment.

Recognition of foreign credentials: if you were educated outside of Canada, you must have your certificates and/or diplomas assessed against Canadian education standards. You are encouraged to begin this process as soon as possible. For more information, click this link:

Degree equivalency

Essential Qualifications:
► Recognized achievement in the form of authorship and editorship of published or unpublished reports, books, papers, peer-reviewed scientific journals, or other communications resulting from:
a) Research, experimental development, or tasking associated with operational equipment and problems; OR
b) Operational research and scientific analysis; OR
c) Planning, analysis and evaluation of Canadian and foreign programs in research and development; OR
d) Developmental work leading to the issue of patents, copyrights, or the creation of improved varieties, functions, or designs, and/or recognition by the professional community of the research environment

► Candidates will be assessed on expertise in one or more of the areas listed in the above section "Intent of the process". Expertise refers to experience and skill in using approaches, tools, and/or technologies within a scientific context.

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

Asset Qualifications:
► Experience writing grant applications.
► Experience working on a multi-disciplinary science team.
► Experience managing multi-year projects with associated human resource, budgetary, and planning functions.
► Experience interacting with industry and other stakeholders to garner support and research direction.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements
Depending on the positions to be staffed, it may require the use of English, French or both languages.

Information on language requirements

Essential Competencies:
► Adaptability
► Teamwork
► Written Communication

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PLEASE NOTE: Depending on the position being staffed, additional qualifications (i.e. experience, knowledge, abilities, competencies) may be required by the hiring manager(s). You will be provided the opportunity to submit information relevant to any additional qualifications that may be applied. Further assessment may be required.
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The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

Preference may be given to members of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women

Information on employment equity

Conditions of employment

► Security: Reliability Status security clearance OR Secret Status security clearance will be required (depending on the position being staffed).
► Other conditions of employment may also apply, depending on the position being staffed.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the targeted groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

► All communication relating to this inventory, including email correspondence may be used in the assessment of qualifications.
► Applications submitted by email will not be accepted. You must apply through the "Apply online" link below.
► Persons with disabilities preventing them from applying on-line are asked to contact the email referenced below under “Contact Information”.
► We will contact you by e-mail and/or via your Public Service jobs account. Please ensure that your e-mail address is valid and accepts messages from unknown users. It is your responsibility to regularly check your e-mail and jobs account for communications regarding this selection process.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.